Advice on Acquiring Brown Suede Shoes?

[Manton]

Duveen: Finer suedes are made from buckskin ("Real Cape Buck&quot instead of reverse calf. Buckskin has a finer nap than reverse calf, which tends to be fuzzier. It goes very well with business suits. It is more expensive and a little harder (though by no means impossible) to find RTW.

If you want a shoe for business casual, then a reverse calf slip-on would be perfect. I wouldn't wear that with a suit however. Maybe the thing to do would be to get one pair of slip-ons, see how much you like them, how often you wear them, etc. and once you're hooked (as you will be) go back for the lace-ups to wear with suits.

 

[spinlps]

I'm considering getting a pair as well, but funds are limited due to a pending Alden Carmel purchase.

Would the Charles Tyrwhitt shoes at 50% ($107 - $150 / pair) be a decent intro to brown suedes? A previous thread mentioned they're rebadged Loakes, while the catalog claims they are handmade in England, Goodyear welted, etc...

They have brown suede plain loafers, penny loafers, semi-brogues, and a derby. I'm leaning towards the derby.

Any long term assessments of CT shoes?

 

[TKDKid]

And now, on to the shoes: Brogues, Semi-Brogues and Other Punched Options C&J Westminster

There's also the new Westfield and Finsbury models - they're on the 341 last which has a nice slightly elongated toe that I quite like.

By the way, C&J offers a neat suede derby shoe you might want to consider. Â I don't have their catalogue with me to give you the name of that shoe, but it's worth having a look. Â As I recall, the version featured in the catalogue was not dark or chocolate brown, but a lighter shade.

The Dartmouth? Â I'm sure I've seen it in a lighter brown somewhere.

 

[lisapop]

The C&J Derby I last saw in their catalogue (Couple weeks ago, but the catalogue is a year old) had a rounder toe, rather than what appears to be a squared-off toe in the shoe posted. The color of the suede in the catalogue was closer to that of their suede boot, rather than what looks like a chocolate brown in the posted shoe.
Grayson

 

[jcusey]

Duveen: Finer suedes are made from buckskin ("Real Cape Buck&quot instead of reverse calf. Buckskin has a finer nap than reverse calf, which tends to be fuzzier. It goes very well with business suits. It is more expensive and a little harder (though by no means impossible) to find RTW.

I don't claim to know oodles about suede and how the different variations are made, but most of the Italians have something in their swatchbooks usually called cashmere suede or something like that. It has a short nap and it feels extremely nice. I doubt that it's honest-to-goodness buckskin, but it's good stuff.

 

[jcusey]

The Alden suede is darker and smoother than the C&J

Alden also has another suede with a longer nap that makes a nice casual shoe. Alden of Carmel used to have a half-brogue blucher in a rich tobacco version of it, although they no longer appear to carry the shoe.

 

[TKDKid]

jcusey, didn't you have a pair of suede (punched?) cap toes?  I remember seeing pics you posted and thought they looked fantastic.  I think they were made by... Gravati?

 

[jcusey]

jcusey, didn't you have a pair of suede (punched?) cap toes? I remember seeing pics you posted and thought they looked fantastic. I think they were made by... Gravati?

You mean these? That's a leather strip woven at the base of the toe cap and on either side of the laces, not punching, although the effect is supposed to be the same. In any event, they are Gravatis, and thank you for your compliments.

 

[TKDKid]

Bingo. Â

The leather strip to imitate punching is interesting - was that your idea or something Gravati already did? Â (Sorry, not familiar with their shoes and haven't seen this effect before anywhere else.)

 

[Bic Pentameter]

I have Grenson's double monk Felstead in cognac, and had hoped to get one in chocolate suede some day.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available anymore at either Pediwear or International Shoes.


Bic

 

[jcusey]

The leather strip to imitate punching is interesting - was that your idea or something Gravati already did?

I was looking for a punched cap model, and I saw a (not very good) picture of this. I didn't realize that it had the leather strip until the retailer (Jim Pierce from Harold's in the Heights) called the next day to ask if I wanted the strip to be leather or suede. I was a little surprised, but I figured that it would look good.

 

[montecristo#4]

Here's a link to a post I made regarding my Yank suede brogues a while back: http://66.170.193.77/cgi-bin....ecristo The shoes are great. I wear them all the time.

 

[lisapop]

You might also want to contact Foster's on Jermyn St. in London regarding any possible sales on their suede shoes. I have a pr. of brown suede monks from Foster's that I snapped up on special for something like $125 a few years back and did the transaction over the phone. Worth a try.
Grayson

 

[Vintage Gent]

As luck would have it, I'm wearing my first pair of suede shoes today. (I'm not counting the Eccos, dirty bucks, or Hush Puppies from childhood.) Brooks Bros, made by Sargent-- if that matters.

As coincidence would have it, I too was wearing my first pair of suede shoes yesterday. Mine were a pair of cap toe Ferragamos in a very nice chocolate brown. While I'd love to spring for a pair of suede shoes from one of the Northampton manufacturers, a size and a half difference in my feet consigns me (for the simple reason of economics) to shopping for shoes at Nordstrom's, which has a unique policy of providing the right size shoe for each foot while only charging for a single pair.